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Public Alerts

Counterfeit pills (round, green, fake oxys marked with CAN 80) have been circulating in Winnipeg and have been tested and confirmed to contain Fentanyl and W18.

Fentanyl is a very toxic opioid drug that can result in overdose causing respiratory depression, unconsciousness and death.

W18 is a synthetic (laboratory made) chemical that is not well understood. W18 is not an opioid so it does not cause opioid effects (decreased breathing) and does not respond to naloxone. In high doses W18 may interfere with heart rhythms. For scientific information see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752382/

Carfentanil found on board in recent deaths in Manitoba

From mid-2016 through mid-2017 there were a significant number of overdose deaths where carfentanil was found in the victim’s system. Carfentanil seemed to drop off sharply in mid to late 2017, but has re-emerged lately and been associated with overdose deaths since September of 2018.

Carfentanil is a highly toxic opioid drug, about 10,000 times stronger than morphine. It is used by veterinarians to tranquilize large animals. There is no known way to safely use carfentanil in humans. Opioids can be dangerous because an overdose can stop a person from breathing, leading quickly to death.

If you use drugs:

Get naloxone and overdose training before using – bring a friend

Do not use drugs alone or behind a locked door. Stagger use with friends so someone can respond/call 911 if needed

Use a less direct route when you take drugs. Injecting a drug is the most direct and dangerous route. In the case of carfentanil, even swallowing, smoking, and snorting has been fatal.

If you mix drugs, reduce the amount of each drug you take and use opioids before benzos or alcohol

Use one drug at a time, test your drugs every time by doing a smaller than usual test amount first

Wait before taking another dose – some drugs take longer to take effect

The amount of naloxone in a take-home kit may not be enough to reverse very powerful overdoses, such as those caused by fentanyl-like drugs

Call 911 (or your local emergency response number) if you witness or experience an overdose. The Good Samaritan Overdose Protection Act will protect those involved from drug possession charges or breach of probation/pre-trial release charges

If you inject do not share any injection equipment (needles, cookers, filters, rinse). Sterile drug use supplies are available from many places – See www.streetconnections.ca

WRHA Population and Public Health Winnipeg Drug and Overdose Alerts is a process designed to communicate information about emerging health risks related to the use of illegal drugs. Alerts are intended to reach people who use drugs by way of programs and services that serve them. If you wish to receive these alerts please follow the link at the bottom of this page.

There are two main sources of information that inform the alerts:

Overdose Alerts: When Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services experience abnormally high numbers of opioid overdose response calls in the previous 12 to 24 hours, an alert will be sent to recipients. This includes both increased numbers of opioid overdoses requiring naloxone administration, and opioid overdoses that require unusually high quantities of naloxone to reverse.

Drug alerts: The WRHA provides drug alerts from Winnipeg Police Service or RCMP when a street drug is confirmed to contain potentially harmful components, such as powerful opioid drugs or other life threatening substances.

Other: May include detection of powerful opioid (fentanyl or analogues) through toxicology reports, or other sources that may indicate a potential increased risk of overdose or other drug harms.

Synthetic cannabinoids (like Spice, K2, Kush etc) have been linked to 94 cases of life-threatening bleeding including 2 deaths in the USA. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out a warning on Thursday after two people died and almost 100 people appeared in ERs with serious unexplained bleeding. Most of these events happened in Illinois but other states were also affected. Everyone they interviewed had used synthetic cannabinoids. For more information see: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/chemicals/sc/default.html

Synthetic cannabinoids are toxic mind-altering chemicals that are made in a lab and sold either sprayed on shredded plant material so it can be smoked like marijuana or as liquid that can be vaporized in e-cigarettes. "Fake weed" products are marketed in shiny packages with hundreds of brand names, including Spice, K2, Joker, Black Mamba, Kush and Kronic. At least three product samples in the latest outbreak tested positive for brodifacoum - rat poison - and further laboratory tests confirmed this exposure in at least 18 of the Illinois patients.

If you use drugs:

Try to find out as much information as you can about what’s actually in the product using drug forums websites such as Erowid or Drugs Forum

Dose carefully- start with small amounts and let the drug take full effect before taking more

Try to use with friends or people you trust, or at the very least make sure someone knows where you are when you’re using

Make sure you (or someone you’re with) has access to a phone and is able to call 911 (or your local Emergency Response Number) if you start experiencing difficulties

Carfentanil is a highly toxic opioid drug, about 10,000 times stronger than morphine. It is used by veterinarians to tranquilize large animals. There is no known way to safely use carfentanil in humans. Opioids can be dangerous because an overdose can stop a person from breathing, leading quickly to death.

Since August 2016 there has been a spike in harms related to carfentanil, mostly around the Winnipeg area

More people are dying from carfentanil overdose than fentanyl overdose

Carfentanil is more common in the Winnipeg illegal market than fentanyl. Many who think they are buying fentanyl are actually buying carfentanil, which is about 100 times more toxic

Some people are knowingly taking carfentanil; others are being poisoned by having carfentanil put into other drugs they take, including counterfeit pills, cocaine, and likely LSD, MDMA, crystal methamphetamine, and other street drugs

All of the carfentanil overdose deaths have occurred among people who took drugs

If you do not use drugs you are at extremely low risk of coming into contact with carfentanil, or experiencing any harmful effects.

USE SAFER

If you are using carfentanil, there is no known safe way to use it – try to use something else.

If you use drugs:

Get naloxone and overdose training before using – bring a friend

Do not use drugs alone or behind a locked door. Stagger use with friends so someone can respond/call 911 if needed

Use a less direct route when you take drugs. Injecting a drug is the most direct and dangerous route. In the case of carfentanil, even swallowing, smoking, and snorting has been fatal.

If you mix drugs, reduce the amount of each drug you take and use opioids before benzos or alcohol

Use one drug at a time, test your drugs every time by doing a smaller than usual test amount first

Wait before taking another dose – some drugs take longer to take effect

The amount of naloxone in a take-home kit may not be enough to reverse very powerful overdoses, such as those caused by carfentanil or fentanyl

Call 911 (or your local emergency response number) if you witness or experience an overdose. The Good Samaritan Overdose Protection Act will protect those involved from drug possession charges or breach of probation/pre-trial release charges